My Heart Won't Skip a Beat
by Fallen from Nowhere
Summary: What would the life of Kenshin Himura's life be if the bandits never killed the slave traders and he was actually sold to be a slave? What would they do with him? And what if he was the slave to the Yukishiro family?
1. Slave Trade

My Heart Won't Skip A Beat  
  
A/N: Please do not take any of the language in this story personally; some of the language in this piece includes prejudice words like, 'limey' and 'mick'. I do not mean to use these words in an offensive matter towards the readers. So please, do not flame me for that use.  
  
~*~*~*  
  
Deception was a cruel way to tell this boys life. So young and for what? To say that his life was worth nothing but to serve others and though he had such a life planned for himself. it would never come. He could only blink out the tears of fear that he had for the future.  
  
So young.  
  
His parents died not even a year ago, from a new decease called cholera that was spreading around the village. Of course, most of the village folk could not afford medication from apothecaries, so they all died. And please, do not think of their deaths as one plethora of people that died at once. Think of it as each person, dying one by one.  
  
His parents were nothing but a poor mixed couple, taking care of there only son, hoping that if he were to face hardships, he would be ready. The boy was half-Irish from his father, and half Japanese from his mother. He could remember grasping onto his mother's life, begging her not to leave him, begging her to stay and take care of him. Nevertheless, as the clutch of his mother's hand began to loosen, he knew he was alone.  
  
However, this boy was a survivor. This boy was not meant to die, and he did not want to either. He had the will. A will like no other, and this power to live slept inside an eight-year-old orphan boy, who could only watch.  
  
"Don't cry," said one of the women, surrounding him with there arms, "We'll all be together, we won't let you go, Shinta." The boy could only clutch to the woman's arm. The wagon shook uncontrollably as it rolled over rocks and sticks. He shut his eyes tightly buried his face in the woman's thin arms. His tears soaked inside the woman's clothing.  
  
"It will be alright, Shinta, you will see, don't worry. You will see." the woman began to run her fingers through Shinta's thick mass of red hair. As the jabbering of the people in the wagon stopped, as well as the wagon, Shinta looked up, and saw only what he was going to become.  
  
"All o' ya! Ou' da wagon!" Shinta felt a hand wrap around his arm and tanked him out roughly. A man picked him up and set him on the ground. Shinta looked around in his environment, he was infront of a very large house, and to him it was like a castle! At least he thought it looked like a castle from what was described to him in his father's stories.  
  
"Awight! Al' o' you r' gonna stand in a strai' line, and you r' gonna let Mr. Yukishiro pick one o' ya! Naw, do as I tell ya! MOVE!" All of the people formed in a long line across the front of the yard. Shinta just stood, baffled, until a man yanked him from where he was standing and brought him into the line. The man who had been telling them all these commands walked towards the line of people. He walked up and down the line making sure that none of them escaped Shinta looked at the man, as he finished inspecting the people, he turned around and Shinta saw the Kanji symbol 'slave trader' on his back. The slave trader was probably the most hideous man he has ever seen in his life. The slave trader had a large built, and had scars all over his face and a huge nose with hairs sticking out of it. He also had gray hair sticking out in all sorts of directions. The slave trader turned around and noticed that Shinta was looking at him.  
  
"What 'r ya lookin' at ya filth?" he charged towards Shinta and picked him up by his collar, "Lookin' at me face eh? What's wrong? Don' like it? 'Cause I think that I am pretty attractive don' ya think?" the slave trader through Shinta to the ground and said, "Get Back 'n line!" Shinta did as the slave trader said and scurried back in his line.  
  
Shinta could here many moans of tiredness out the many slaves. However, as a man walked out of the castle, they all stopped in either fear, or of a great deal of respect. The man looked in his late thirties, he had black hair that was slick back and a nicely shaven mustache right under his nose. He was dressed in clothes that Shinta has never seen before, so he knew that this man must have been rich. The man walked up and down the selection in front of him, and stopped right in front of Shinta and stared. Shinta stared up at him and backed away.  
  
"It is alright boy I am not going to hurt you," he said in a passive voice, "What is your name?"  
  
Shinta stared at the man, and said in a very low voice, "Shinta, my name is Shinta." The man smiled at him and said, "And what are you doing here Shinta? Why are you in such a horrible predicament?" Shinta just stared at the man, he did not know what 'predicament' meant, but he was not going to question the man either. Therefore, he answered him as best as he could, "My parents died from a decease call cholera, and so did the rest of the people who lived in my village, that man over there," Shinta pointed to the slave trader, "he took me away."  
  
The rich man slowly nodded his head, "I see, how old are you, Shinta?"  
  
"I'm eight," he said, still so timid.  
  
The rich man smiled and stood up, he grabbed Shinta's shoulder and pulled him out of the line, "500 yen for this boy," the rich man yelled out to the slave trader. The slave trader smirked, "He ain't worth 500, why would you want a runt like him? He ain't worth nothin'," the slave trader pulled a piece of straw out of the wagon and put it in his mouth, and began to chew on it.  
  
"1500."  
  
The slave trader's eyes bulged, "1500? Are you out o' yer mind?" The rich man grabbed Shinta's hand and squeezed it, "If I were out of my mind, would I even be able to afford such a child?" Shinta looked behind his shoulder to look at the woman who said that they would always be together. The woman had tears rolling down her eyes; she smiled and mouthed the word, 'go'. Shinta looked back up at the trader, "Why de 'ell would ya want this scrawny little rat? Look a' 'im, he's pathetic. I 'urd 'bout his parents, he is nothin' but a half-breed, filthy Irish mick!" The slave trader spat every time he opened his mouth. Shinta hid behind the rich man and his eyes were still set on the slave trader.  
  
The rich man glared at the slave trader, "I do not care what his heritage is, and no boy deserves such life. He is the only child in that group of people, and I show pity towards him. I want to give this boy a life," the rich man stared deeply with a cold glare in the slave trader's eyes. The slave trader knew that the argument had to end there.  
  
"Fine," he said, "If he is worth so much to you, then I want 5000 yen for him," the slave trader took the piece of straw out of his mouth and threw it to the side.  
  
"Then it is a deal," the rich man said, nodding his head, "You will have your money by next week, now please get off of my property." The slave trader glared at Shinta with icy stare.  
  
~*~*~*  
  
Shinta entered the castle and it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. The windows had beautiful, red velvet curtains that were tied apart with two gold ropes. There were mirrors and portraits of people a long the halls of the castle, and there was even carpeting! The rich man grabbed Shinta's hand and pulled him lightly to start walking; Shinta squeezed his hand as tight as he could, and said, "Is this is castle?" The man smiled and gave a small chuckle, "No, this is not a castle, it is a mansion, and there is a great difference between the two."  
  
"What would that be?" Shinta said out of pure curiosity. He looked up at the man and tilted his head to the side. The man smiled and stumbled when he lost track of what he was thinking. He picked up his balance and looked down at Shinta and said, "Well, they have two completely different structures, for example, a castle has many more wings and different stories and towers. A mansion has about six wings maximum and it looks more like a large house with many balconies." Shinta looked at him utterly confused, but he was not going to ask any more questions, because he knew that he would not understand.  
  
The rich man led Shinta to a very large, very detailed, embossed door.  
  
"Shinta, before I explain things to you, let me introduce myself, my name is Hiro Yukishiro; I am a government official, and I run the foreign trade office. Inside here, is a friend of the family, and he is very anxious to meet you, don't be nervous." Mr. Yukishiro opened the door and Shinta looked at the man infront of him, he was laying down on a sofa with his feet on it, leaving dirt on as he got up. He was a very muscular man, he had long black hair that was tied back in a low pony tail, and he had a huge cape around his shoulders.  
  
"Shinta, I would like you to meet Seijuiro Hiko, he is going to be your sensei," Shinta looked in awe at the man for he looked extremely powerful, and he was so tall. The man walked around Shinta staring icily down at him.  
  
"This is the boy I must train?" He kneeled down to Shinta's height and grabbed his chin and turned his head side to side, "O boy. we have a lot of work to do," he heaved a heavy sigh and put his hand over his face. He stood up and walked towards Mr. Yukishiro, "How old is the boy?"  
  
"He told me he was eight," Mr. Yukishiro said, staring down at Shinta.  
  
"Well, at least he has a good age to start. What's his heritage?"  
  
"Half Irish and and half Japanese."  
  
"Irish eh? Not bad, atleast I know he is going to have some muscle when he is older," he walked towards Shinta and kneeled back down to him, "So kid, do you know why yo are here?" Shinta shook his head very slowly.  
  
"Alright, I see you are the silent type, but then again I already could tell just by looking at you. But that's alright, your timidness won't exist anymore when I am through with you." The man patted Shinta on the head as he stood up.  
  
"When do you want to start the lessons?" Mr. Yukishiro said.  
  
"Tomorrow, I'll be here at the crack of dawn. Make sure he's ready." And that was the last thing he said, and with that, he had left through the doorway. Shinta just stared, panick was overflowing inside of him. What was going on?  
  
"Mr. Yukishiro!" Shinta cried, "What's going on? Who was that man, and whay am I here?" Mr Yukishiro just smiled and said, "You are to be a samurai, and you will be the best of the best."  
  
*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I hope that you all liked it, I tried to put as much detail as I could. If I have any spelling or grammar error pelase tell me. 


	2. Early Mornings with Hiko

My Heart Won't Skip a Beat  
  
Ch2  
  
"Rise n' Shine, get up! I told you I was going to be here at dawn," Cried a voice. Shinta snapped up and stared at Mr. Seijiro. Shinta rubbed his eyes and buried his head under the pillows.  
  
"Why do we have to get up so early? Can't we do this later?" With Hiko's strength, he easily pulled the pillow off his head, whipped the blanket off him, and said, "Later? You want to do this later?" Shinta turned on his back; his gi was completely out of his hakama and was hanging from his forearms. His small torso went up and down rapidly, every time he breathed in, his ribs poked out so much that it seemed like they were going to rip through his skin. Shinta gave a nod and looked at the clock, "It is 4:00 in the morning Mr. Hiko! Can we please do this later?"  
  
"Alright," he said, crossing his arms and was waiting.  
  
"Thankyou," said Shinta, he grabbed the covers and pulled them over his shoulders. After about thirty seconds, the covers just came off again. Shinta shot up and looked at Hiko. He raised an eyebrow and said, "What? Isn't it officially later since you asked for more time? Now get out of bed and fix yourself, I am not the type to teach sloppy students."  
  
Hiko turned around and walked out of the room. Shinta watched him and cried, "Wait!" He scurried out of his futon and tucked his gi in as fast as he could. He did not know where his socks were, he forgot where he threw them, and they were his only pair! He looked on his futon, searched his dresser, and even looked out the window. As he was looking, he saw Hiko walking out of the gates.  
  
"Mr. Hiko! Wait!" he ran out of the room, bears foot, ran through the maze of halls, and finding the staircase. One of his tiny hands grabbed the railing and slid down the wood as he ran down the stairs as fast as he could. He felt the soft carpeting between his toes, leaving his footsteps imprinted in it. He found the door, but the only problem was that he did not know how to open it. He was used to the sliding doors, and these doors were completely different; they had metal knobs in the far right of it. Shinta put his hand around it and slowly turned it. Lucky for him, it opened.  
  
"Wait!" He yelled running out of the yard of the mansion and caught up with his new master. His grabbed his cape, trying to stop him, and then put his arm around his stomach breathing in deeply.  
  
"Stop panting, it wasn't that long of a run!" He grabbed Shinta by the collar and pulled him so he would stand strait.  
  
"But Mr. Hiko! Why didn't you-"  
  
"Don't call me Mr. Hiko!" He snapped in a-matter-of-fact tone of voice. He crossed his arms and turned, walking deeper into the road, "You will call me master until the day I die, got that? And you will like it. Since we are on the subject of liking, get used to waking up at dawn everyday. If you ever complain to me like that again, I won't be as nice as I was today." He stopped walking and turned around, "Well, don't just stand there like an imbecile, MOVE!"  
  
Shinta eyes widened, everything was happening so fast! But he wasn't going to complain. He ran to his new master as fast as he could. He walked very fast, and Shinta was almost starting to jog. He still trailed behind Hiko, with a grudge on his face. Shinta, himself, was starting to get very irritated. What was this guy thinking? Why was he bossing him around like this? He felt like kicking him, nice and hard in the shin. Then, he smacked his hand over his forehead; what was he thinking? He never wanted to kick somebody before. Well, except for some kid who kept calling Shinta a weakling, but he never wanted to kick an adult before!  
  
He picked up his speed a little and walked besides Hiko.  
  
"Where are we going?" Hiko didn't look down at him, he only slapped his forehead and said, "To my place, which is a couple of miles down." Shinta looked up at him and only blinked. Wasn't this guy going to explain anything to him? An explanation would be nice, since he was clueless. Shinta glared at him, and then tugged on his cape.  
  
"Mr- Master, um, could you answer some questions, please?" This time, instead of slapping his forehead, he actually stared down at him, with an eyebrow raised.  
  
"What kind of questions?"  
  
Shinta breathed in and said, "Why are you teaching me swordsmanship?" Hiko scratched the top of his forehead.  
  
"Yukishiro didn't tell you anything I expect," he slapped his forehead again, except with a different expression; as if this was going to be a long story, "What do you see in this country?" Shinta stared at him blankly and took a moment to think of his answer.  
  
"Well, I see people, and animals and, well, a lot of different things I guess," he shrugged his shoulders and kicked a rock in front of him. He did not understand where any of this was leading.  
  
"And Shinta- Shinta. Shinta, I hate that name," he said side tracked, "Anyway, who do you think takes care of these things?"  
  
He shrugged his shoulders again, "Buddha?" His master gave an annoyed look and said, "No, not Buddha, there is no such thing as Buddha. Try the government."  
  
"O. Yeah, that's what my dad said before he died, he said there is no Buddha too, and he said that the only thing you can believe in is the bibl- " Shinta was cut off by his master, who was completely trying to change the subject.  
  
"I don't really care, your father is dead, and his opinion doesn't really matter anymore now does it?" He stared at Shinta with cold eyes. Shinta looked down embarrassed, almost as if he was about to cry. Hiko faced his face forward, but looking down at Shinta with one eye and said, "Anyway, it would be nice if such a thing as Buddha existed to take care of everything, but that is not the way it works. Government, kid, is weak. There are many different colonies trying to take over Japan right now, and so the government needs a killing machine to wipe out all the foreigners trying to take over. And do you know what the killing machine is?"  
  
"A gun? Are we going to make a gun- O, no wait, then why would you be teaching me swordsmanship?" Shinta looked up at the sky and began to ponder. Hiko took a deep breath in anger, and hit Shinta in the head.  
  
"OW! What was that for?"  
  
"Are you that much of an imbecile of a kid? It is you! My job is to teach you the swordsmanship style Hiten Mitsurugi! You are to learn it, master it, and love it!" Hiko had gotten so close to Shinta's face that spit droplets were all over his face. Shinta wiped it off his face. To kill people? The only thing he has ever killed was sakedas, but nobody likes sakedas!  
  
"Are you saying I have to kill people? I don't want to kill people!" Shinta's eyes became wide with innocence; maybe he would let Shinta off the hook. Since he was just a kid. Hiko's icy stare began to soften and sighed. He straitened up and began to walk again. Shinta was just standing there, not knowing whether he wanted to follow his master or not. He could run right now, but he knew Hiko would chase him down. Hiko stopped in the rode again; his head turned, looking at Shinta.  
  
"I hate to tell you kid, but you don't have much of a choice. I would like to give you it, but you don't have it. You will kill and make a bloody mess. However, to assure you, you won't start killing until you are around thirteen, so you still have a few more years to look forward to. Well, just don't stand there! Hop to it!" Shinta scurried by Hiko's side again, walking parallel to him.  
  
"Why don't you just kill the people?" He said with his arms crossed. Hiko rolled his eyes and sighed, "I have my reasons kids, I am an adult, I am sick of answering your questions, and I am going to stop right now! O look! Home sweet home!" The rode began to trail into a thick forest.  
  
"You live in the woods?" Shinta said, walking ahead of Hiko and staring into the forest. "Wow, no wonder you seem so anti-social," he began to enter the forest. He used to go into forests all the time before his parents passed away. He would pick fruit for his mother, he remembered eating outside with her and talking with her about life and personal problems. His mother always had the answer. H gave a personal smile to himself, thinking about the days with his parents. However, his reminiscing had been interrupted by a smack in the face, given kindly by Hiko. Shinta rubbed his head continuously.  
  
"Why did you hit me?" he said with his arm raised, ready to strike Hiko back after the periodic times of a beating. Hiko, not even thinking of him as a threat, walked passed Shinta mumbling, "Anti- social, how the hell does a kid like that know what anti-social means? Errr. I'll show him anti- social." He began to just wander off in the road; Shinta thought that Hiko didn't even notice him. He began to turn around and find his way back to the Big House.  
  
"I don't think so!" Hiko snapped, "Stop being lazy, when I walk, you walk. Do not stop until I tell you to!" Shinta, very aggrivated, balled his fists, stomped over to Hiko, stuck his tongue out at him, and ran. However, running didn't get him too far; Hiko grabbed him by his collar, found the nearest branch and let him hang there.  
  
"Get me down from here!" Shinta cried. He began to kick, scream and give Hiko very nasty stares.  
  
"Unless you apologize to me, you are going to be up there for a while," He crossed his arms and gave Shinta the same nasty look Shinta was giving.  
  
"No way! I'll apologize when you stop hitting me!"  
  
Shinta, however, didn't get the response that he wanted. Hiko raised an eyebrow and began to walk away.  
  
"Where are you going?" Shinta screamed, "Okay! I am sorry! I really am! Please don't leave me up here!" Hiko stopped and stared back at Shinta. The look that Hiko was giving him was probably the softest look he has given him since the first time they met yesterday. Shinta's kicking and screaming immediately stopped.  
  
He turned around fully and said, "You know, I really don't need some kid disrespecting me like this. I don't have to teach you. I have other options available to me, and I would probably be much happier then I am now. However, there would be consequences for you that wouldn't be too good. If you refuse to follow my directions, and refuse to learn the art of swordsmanship, then Mr. Yukishiro won't find you very helpful. You will be killed, like all the other 'useless' slaves out there."  
  
Shinta stared at him wide eyed, and looked down. Tears concealed behind his eyes. He knew that if he shed them, it wouldn't matter to Hiko. It was always natural to cry when he was scared, he knew that there would always be arms to hold him and give him comfort, but not this time.  
  
Hiko threw his sword right at Shinta. His eyes bulged and tears bled from his face. 'No!' it screamed in his mind, 'I am not useless! I can plant and farm! I can clean! Don't kill me!'. Shinta flew his arms over his head, protecting whatever he could. He felt the fear of death swallowing his lungs, and making his heart beat an abnormal pace. O! He could just feel that sword sink though his flesh- but- the only thing he felt was the dirt, and his back hurting from the fall. In the distance he heard the clash of sword and rock meet, and raised his head to look at Hiko.  
  
He crossed his arms and stared coldly down at him, "Did you actually think I was going to kill you? I may be an old man but my accuracy is still sharp. Now hurry up and don't lack behind! But, from knowing the examples you have been setting for me this morning, you probably will anyway, so, while you're lacking, go get my sword!" Hiko turned sharply and began to walk deeper into the forrest. Knowing that Shinta was not too far behind.  
  
A/N: Sorry that the first chapter was so CHOPPY! ACK! I always seem to do that! Probably because I want it updated and done with. But this chapter was pretty interesting. Thanks for the reviews everybody! Much appreciated! ^_^!! O and can I ask a favor from the people who read this, please, as I continue this story, like say the 7th chapter, and you are just started reading this story, don't review every chapter individually, I find that annoying. Just read the whole thing, then review. Moreover, don't make up those little skit reviews, like:  
  
(Completely made up, don't know whether this is an actual person or not)  
  
Omen: That was good stuff  
  
Hiko: It sucked  
  
Omen: (Bashes him over head)  
  
Kenshin: O_o  
  
And so on and so forth. That is my biggest pet peeve, just to let you know, I don't read them, I find them irritating, and most of them are too long!! ^0^!!!!!!!!!! I am just telling you this lovely information because I enjoy reading reviews, but I do not enjoy reading reviews from the same author on different chapters! Or those skit things! Irritating! So please, for my sake, make them short, get to the point, criticize and blah blah blah. ~*Lot's o' smiles*~ ^_^ CTC 


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